Booklets such as magazines, manuals and catalogs are assembled on a commercial scale by automated systems. Typically, sections of the booklet are assembled and bound by one machine. Each section consists of two or more sheets and is commonly referred to in the industry as a signature.
One widely used machine for collating signatures is a signature inserter. A signature inserting machine includes a series of hoppers positioned side by side above a conveyor chain. The hoppers contain signatures. They are generally continually hand loaded or machine loaded throughout a run. In one type of signature inserting machine, a stationary member known as a saddle is positioned above portions of the conveyor chain and adjacent each hopper. The saddles are formed in a generally inverted V shape for receiving partially opened signatures from its associated hopper. The conveyor chain also includes several signature engaging pusher pins which are moved in sequence past the saddles to engage a signature and push it along. As a signature is picked from a saddle by the pusher pins of the conveyor chain, that signature is deposited on top of other signatures previously picked from saddles and being moved by the same pusher pin of the conveyor chain.
A typical saddle machine has at least four hoppers which contain the signatures to be assembled. After the last signature, usually the front and back cover pages, is deposited onto previous signatures, the assembled booklet passes through a station which permanently binds it. Stapling or stitching are two examples of binding steps for booklets. Thereafter, the booklet is transferred to a trimming machine that trims its top, bottom and front edges.
It is a fairly common practice to adhesively attach or tip an insert to an outside page of one of the signatures. The inserts usually differ in size than a signature page and therefor are conspicuous. They are typically used for an advertising or other related purpose.
The industry has used various types of machines for adding or, as commonly used, tipping an insert to a signature page. In one method of tipping, a separate machine is utilized to tip i.e., glue an insert to a page of a signature. Thus, the signatures are transported to the tipping machine for the sole purpose of adding an insert. Thereafter the signatures are taken to the signature inserting machine and the signatures completely assembled to form the booklet.
Some signature inserting machines have been disclosed having a means built into them as an integral part for the purpose of adding an insert. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,371,924, 3,658,318 and 4,083,551 contain descriptions of such machines. The machines operate in the same basic fashion. A supply of inserts to be attached to the signatures is placed in a feed hopper. The insert is individually placed onto an adhesive bearing signature being moved by a conveyor chain. The adhesive is applied along one edge of the insert or one edge of the signature to be bound. An apparent problem with some such inserting machines having the insert tipping capability as an integral part is that they are either slow or inflexible in the size of inserts which they can handle.
There is a need for an apparatus for the tipping of inserts as a part of the operation of the signature inserting machine. The apparatus must be flexible enough to be operable with different makes of signature inserting machines. Additionally, the apparatus must be able to properly apply the inserts in a precise location. Most importantly, the apparatus must be capable of being adjusted so as to be in perfect timing with the conveyor chain of the inserting machine. There has now been developed an on-line tipping apparatus which is portable in nature and provides the features which are required.